


Of Tea and Godly Men

by 23Murasaki



Series: Everyone Lives! [4]
Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Agni is a nice person, Ash is not a nice person, Gen, Tea Parties, why is that a tag?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-30
Updated: 2014-01-30
Packaged: 2018-01-10 09:44:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1158144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/23Murasaki/pseuds/23Murasaki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is not whom Ash had expected to meet in a manor that reeked of filth and hellfire. Tea and insinuations about blessings ensue. Written for a friend who wanted these two to interact.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Tea and Godly Men

The whole building always reeked of filth. It was the type of filth that couldn’t be scrubbed away, the kind that permeated the very foundations and the stones and hung heavy in the air like an invisible smog. Ash shivered. It didn’t get any better no matter how many times he came around. As usual, he hesitated outside the kitchen door and steeled himself. Likely, that demon would be waiting for him, all impurities and fake smiles and burning eyes. He pulled open the door.  
  
The kitchen was thankfully lacking in demons. Mr. Tanaka was dozing on his usual stool, a cup of green tea cooling in front of him. Steam rose from the sink where a tall man Ash didn’t know seemed intent on boiling a number of pots into cleanliness. At the sound of the door opening, he looked over, gentle silver eyes widening with surprise.  
  
“Hm?” He was naggingly familiar. “Oh, good afternoon. Sebastian is not here right now... May I help you?”  
  
“That’s perfectly fine,” said Ash, probably faster than was necessary. The strange man tilted his head in a confused manner. “I just have a letter to leave. For the Earl. Not Sebastian.” He shut his mouth to stop himself from rambling further.  
  
“Oh, I see!” said the strange man with a friendly smile. “Would you like some tea?You look as though you have caught a chill.” He didn’t want tea, he wanted to stop feeling sick all the time and to stop hurting and a few dozen other things that had nothing to do with tea. Instead he smiled politely.  
  
“If it isn’t any trouble, Mr...?” The stranger blinked.  
  
“Oh, my apologies! My name is Agni. You are Mr. Ash Landers, yes?”  
  
“... Yeah, that’s me,” he muttered. Curry competition. That was where he knew this fellow from. Also probably where the fellow knew that demon from. That made sense. The steam was making his mind sluggish. He tried not to shiver again and failed miserably.  
  
“I know of a remedy that warms one’s body and soul,” said Agni, busying himself with a teakettle and some mixture of spices. “Perhaps it will do you some good, Mr. Ash.”  
  
“Thank you kindly,” said Ash, thinking that there was very little that could do him good by now. The thought that little could do him harm either had sprouted in the back of his mind at some point and was reasserting itself, and he shook his head to clear it.  
  
“... Are you unwell?” asked Agni, pausing with a spoonful of ginger in mid-air. For a moment Ash wanted to explain everything in minute detail. Just for a moment. Instead he smiled and tried very hard to change the subject.  
  
“... I see that there is no bad blood between you and Sebastian after that contest?” he asked. Agni shook his head vehemently.  
  
“By no means. I think... It is a very good thing he won!” Well, that was unexpected. It did not even feel like he was lying. “He deserved the victory he was blessed with.”  
  
“... Blessed with, huh?” That was not the turn of phrase he would have used with regards to a filthy demon. Agni smiled, and the smile did something odd to his eyes. “Surely, it was awarded by the Queen, no?” He tilted his head. “For an Englishman, that is a blessing, I hear...”  
  
That made a degree of sense, but it still felt like he was missing a chunk of information. Ash sighed and sank into a chair, and a moment later a mug of something warm and sweet smelling was placed in front of him and he gave up on getting anything useful out of Agni. At least the tea made his head hurt less. Still, they parted on a disconcerting note.  
  
“I am glad that remedy was to your taste,” said Agni as he handed Ash his thick, purple-lined coat. “Sebastian is fond of it as well.”  
  
Still, that was a problem for another day. He’d had more than his fill of impurities for this one.


End file.
